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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23875468">Adora Vs The Zombie Apocalypse</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace_Of_D1amonds/pseuds/Ace_Of_D1amonds'>Ace_Of_D1amonds</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018), The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Catra has a van, Crossover, Established Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Friendship, I don't hate Wyoming I promise, I just wanted to write a crossover zombie au im sorry, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kind of Slowburn, Modern Setting, Multi, Overly dramatic teenagers, POV Adora (She-Ra), POV Third Person, Slow Burn, Swearing, Teamwork, Zombie Apocalypse, adora plays basketball, bit of angst, but also fluff, don't ask me who's dead, heavily inspired by zombieland</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:02:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>19,556</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23875468</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace_Of_D1amonds/pseuds/Ace_Of_D1amonds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The zombies are quick, Adora has to be quicker. When the apocalypse hits the overly friendly yet horribly patronising city of Lower Heartville, Adora quickly puts aside the woes of everyday life to focus on fighting for it. With the timely arrival of a silver van rescuing her from certain doom, Adora finds herself on the move with three experienced apocalypse survivors who are struggling to stay just a step ahead of the zombie onslaught.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>102</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1 - The City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1>
  <b>Chapter 1</b>
</h1><h1>
  <em> The City</em>
</h1><p> </p><p>The virus was quick. It somehow spread a lot quicker than the lumbering zombies it created. Some say it arrived in New York first, and came over the Atlantic from the depths of the French mountains. Others say that it came from deep in the deserts of Mexico, and hit San Antonio first. It didn’t matter, in a few weeks it had conquered the whole East of America with all the grace of a bull in a china shop. When it bulldozed into Washington D.C and the president was compromised (eaten), some folks panicked but in the small city of Lower Heartville, Wyoming (not to be confused with Hartville, Wyoming) life pretty much continued as normal. Nothing exciting ever happened in Wyoming so why should a zombie virus bother its inhabitants. They weren’t anywhere near as important as San Francisco or New York, so why would any life changing crisis even bother to stop off in Lower Heartville. Except that Wyoming’s downright dismissive treatment of the virus, wondering why a global pandemic should stop daily working life, was essentially it’s downfall. All it took was one unregulated, infected person walking right into the quiet city centre and Lower Heartville collapsed into apocalyptic chaos in a matter of hours. In a day it had spread right through Lower Heartville like a raging wildfire. Left, right and centre, the once overly friendly yet horribly patronising inhabitants had become brain thirsty zombies, rotting flesh and all. For the unlucky Lower Heartville citizens who weren’t taken down by the first wave, life became increasingly more dangerous. One moment, your running for the bus, the next, your running for your life. </p><p> </p><p>Adora Carrero was one such person who had to make the drastic switch in a matter of minutes.</p><p> </p><p>She was running for a bus, the last one in a while; if she missed it, she’d probably be late for work. She couldn’t be late for work; if she was she might get a warning, a warning led to a demotion or worse, being fired. Her lungs heaved as she sprinted down the sidewalk, the bus overtaking her with ease. Maybe it had seen her? It might wait for her? Her muscles ached, she hadn’t warmed up for this at all, but then again she felt like she was running for her life and she didn’t think a person really limbered up for life or death situations. </p><p> </p><p><em> Wait. </em>With all her mind power, she willed the bus to let her catch up. </p><p> </p><p><em> Wait. </em> It had stopped, people were getting off. </p><p> </p><p><em> Wait. </em>She screamed internally, her lungs screamed too, she sprinted across the road with her little regard for oncoming traffic and suddenly- Yes! She made it! </p><p> </p><p>The bus driver glared her down as she fumbled for her bus pass and sighed as she dropped it out of haste, but let her on nevertheless. Exhausted, she flopped down in the first available seat and tried to take deep breaths, restoring the oxygen to her dying lungs. As she rolled her head back she felt the hum of the engine as the bus trundled back onto the road; she wouldn’t be late, although she would have to change into her work clothes quickly once she got there. Right now her white jogging bottoms, t-shirt and red hoodie could hardly pass for respectable business attire. </p><p> </p><p>But the bus had hardly made ten metres when it screeched to a halt. From her seat, Adora could just see out of the front window and was rather shocked as she watched an old man stagger around in front of the bus, convulsing, before leaping straight at the windscreen and shattering it completely; the old man then proceeded to viciously attack the the bus driver, gargling and groaning as he bit down on chunks of flesh. </p><p> </p><p>By this point the whole bus had begun screaming and rushing to the back of the bus, in a vain attempt to avoid the convulsing creature; Adora instead ducked under her seat, heart beating fast. Adrenaline rushing, she watched the creature drag its feet up the bus aisle, closer and closer to the screaming passengers, and against her better judgement and body’s wishes, took an opportunity to dart behind it and sprint up to the front of the bus. She slammed her fists repeatedly on the door but to no avail, and after a half-hearted kick remembered the driver had the buttons for the door on the control panel. She spun round only to find the bus driver rolling out of his compartment, flesh dangling off the right side of his face and groaning just as viciously as the old man.</p><p> </p><p>Fearing for her life, Adora clambered through the shattered windscreen. She could feel the glass slicing through her skin, blood gushing from her legs, but kept going, clambering down the front of the bus and landing firmly on the tarmac road below. Head spinning, she surveyed her surroundings, all around her people were convulsing and groaning, heads lolling. A multitude of people were rushing around screaming or beating the pursuing creatures. One woman, or what was left of her, locked her cold dead eyes onto Adora and began stumbling towards her, arms dangling loosely at her sides, attached by stringy pieces of flesh. Instead of sticking around to find out if she was friendly, Adora turned on her heels and ran towards the pharmacy. She was very aware of the blood streaming down her legs and resolved to bandage them up before anything else.</p><p> </p><p>She practically fell through the door, hearing the stupid bell ringing as she slammed it shut and dragged a chair over to it, blocking the entrance. Breathing heavily, she staggered over to where she saw the bandages took a moment to heavily regret running for the bus. Adora yanked up her fairly shredded, once white, now stained blood red, jogging bottoms and assessed her injuries: minor cuts but one huge slice across her calf which she quickly bandaged up tightly. Outside she could still hear car alarms, shouts, the moans of the undead and distant gunshots as, she assumed, the gun-wielding Americans were fighting back. </p><p> </p><p>Adora was very anti-guns, but she thought maybe she could make an exception as it appeared the ‘zero threat to the modern way of life’ as the president had put it, had actually turned out to be a major threat. To all life. And maybe a shotgun could be helpful? Even if she couldn’t use it properly, any weapon would be good right now. </p><p> </p><p>She remembered her basketball warmups. Her old basketball coach in highschool would take her team through breathing exercises. <em> Deep breaths. Oxygen is very important, especially if you're doing sport. </em>Adora reckoned that it was probably useful for outrunning zombies. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by the stupid bell and a pound on the store door. Hastily, she stood up and grabbed a box of plasters, stuffing it in her pocket. She backed slowly towards the back of the store; the pounding continued. As she clambered over the cashier desk, she heard an almighty crash. <em> And the door defence is down. </em> She hurried into the back room and frantically looked for an exit. <em> There! </em>A fire exit, she slammed it open, barely hearing the door alarm blaring over the thumping of blood in her ears.</p><p> </p><p>She found herself in a quiet back alley and, after slamming the fire exit door shut and praying zombies couldn’t climb over counters, she stumbled down the steps and into the alley. To her left there was a huge brick wall, lined with garbage bags and bins; to her right a brutal, bloody battle field where, it seemed, the zombie invasion had already claimed its victims. She resolved to head home to her battered up, studio apartment where she could stock up on things and pick up another backpack, her old one long forgotten on the bus. She needed a fresh change of clothes, some non-perishable goods, and maybe some kind of weapon. Did she still have her old baseball bat? She could hammer nails into it like they did on Stranger Things. <em> Whatever. Not important. Thinking too far ahead. </em>She had to make it to her apartment block first. </p><p> </p><p>She heard a <em> bang </em> behind her as the fire exit blew off its hinges and slammed into the railings of the stairs. Falling over each other, an armada of zombies came pouring out of the door frame like a blood-gushing wound. <em> Time to run. </em>She sprinted out onto the street, taking comfort in the fact that she was an athlete and could keep running. Around her, blood soaked corpses lay on blood soaked sidewalks, cars crashed into lamp posts and glass shards scattered across the paving stones like knives.</p><p> </p><p>Adora set off running towards her apartment block, it was a few streets away, she could make it. She turned onto the main road and stopped short in her tracks. So maybe she would have to make a detour. The corpses were reanimating themselves, picking their broken limbs off the concrete and beginning to lurch towards her, moaning and groaning, gurgling and grumbling. Not wanting to risk it, she resolved to take the slightly longer route and ran right, still painfully aware of the mass of creatures behind her too. </p><p> </p><p>With every step, Adora could feel the gash in her leg wailing with pain, her lungs gasping for air, but still she pressed on. She would rather this pain than become zombie food. She remembered how she felt running for the bus. <em> Well, I was wrong. Running for your life is much, much worse. </em>She shouldn’t be here, she should be sitting on a bus, heading to work, contemplating how best to avoid her boss and finish the growing pile of paperwork on her desk. She never wanted a damn office job, it was just until she could get that basketball scholarship she wanted, then she’d be off to college and out of the overly friendly yet horribly patronising town of Lower Heartville. </p><p> </p><p>Another turn, another cluster of zombies, another damn detour. Was she ever going to make it back home?</p><p> </p><p>She remembered how she had worried herself sick yesterday about all the reports she had to finish. She wished she could go back to last night, when that was the most worried she could be and she wasn’t amidst a zombie apocalypse. If she could go back, she wouldn’t stay up till 1:00am finishing work, living off instant noodles, caffeine and the pure horror of losing her job. She’d treat herself to a nice meal, something cooked for once maybe, she wasn’t the best chef, but she could whip up an omelette. Maybe she’d watch a movie, take some time to relax, then head of to bed at a reasonable hour. That way she could be rested for the apocalypse; although maybe if she knew that it was coming she’d spend yesterday getting the heck out of Lower Heartville. Whatever report she’d been panicking about last night seemed insignificant in comparison to now. </p><p> </p><p>Yet another turn down a side road. With every zombie she’d lose, she’d gain two more. There was no stopping them. <em> Keep going. </em> Her coach’s words rang in her head. <em> Deep breaths. Resilience is key. Never let your guard down. In the face of an adversary, never give in. </em>Except that Adora could feel herself giving in, her knees were weak, they felt as fragile as glass, her feet were lead blocks. Her lungs felt as if they would burst and all she could hear was the deafening beat of her heart. With shaky breath, she kept thundering down the road, but she could feel herself faltering. She found herself in a square, roads leading out everywhere but most crawling with zombies. She wondered if anybody else had survived the onslaught, surely she wasn’t the only one in the whole of Lower Heartville? </p><p> </p><p>She came to a halt in the centre of the square, all around her she could see the zombies closing in. She had no will to continue, no way of escape. She stumbled up the stone steps onto the raised plinth, could she climb the statue? Her arms told her no, they could barely raise themselves. She was thoroughly exhausted and out of options. <em> So this is the end? This is how I die? </em>Adora has always thought she’d make it to at least seventy. She didn’t really know what life she would have after college, she hoped for a career in the basketball leagues then maybe retirement and become a Phys Ed. teacher. Like her basketball coach. Or maybe she’d end up working a desk job forever. Maybe she’d meet someone, maybe not. Maybe kids? Who knew. Whatever life had been in store for Adora was long gone now. She was going to die at the tender age of nineteen on a plinth in the middle of a square in the overly friendly yet horribly patronising town of Lower Heartville. In Wyoming. Of all places. She hadn’t even been out of the country yet. She hadn’t seen all the sights she wanted, or done all the crazy things she had planned, like skydiving or trying French food. </p><p> </p><p>Oh well, she’d had a good run. Not many folks could say they lasted as long as her in the zombie apocalypse. They closed in on her, they staggered and stumbled across the square jaws sagging open, teeth gnashing. She resolved to go down fighting, her coach would be proud, and steadied herself. The first zombie stepped onto the stone stairs-</p><p> </p><p>‘Take this mother fuckers!’ </p><p> </p><p>Bullets sprayed through the air, Adora jumped back into the statue in shock. Eyes darting around, she saw a silver van splattered with blood, screech into the square. It span haphazardly round the square multiple times, crushing corpses under wheel, spraying flesh and guts all across the stone tiles. Bullets from what sounded like a machine gun, doused the surrounding zombies, sending them reeling. Adora pressed herself against the statue trying to minimise the amount of body that could be hit, still shocked at the sudden arrival of some kind of rescue. The van screeched to a stop and the big sliding door rolled open. A boy with pale skin and jet black hair, gestured wildly to her to get in. Adora didn’t need to be told twice, she started towards the van as the boy disappeared and was replaced by a very short, angry looking girl screaming at her to ‘Hurry the fuck up!’ as she loaded what looked like an assault rifle. She extended a hand and Adora grabbed it as the van started up again and she was yanked into it. The girl dragged the door shut and slid open a small window, pointed the rifle out and began firing at what Adora assumed was more zombies. </p><p> </p><p>‘Go through Wyoming you said!’ the girl screamed, ‘Nothing ever fucking happens in Wyoming you said!’</p><p> </p><p>‘Well I’m fuckin’ sorry!’ yelled another voice, Adora turned her head to see a girl with white hair and a very strong accent, loading another gun in the passenger seat. The boy she’d seen was gripping the steering wheel and swerving round bends. </p><p> </p><p>‘Clearly the zombies travel a lot faster than we do!’ the white haired woman continued, then proceeded to wind down her window and also fire at the zombie onslaught.</p><p> </p><p>Adora frantically glanced around the vehicle, it was rather large and filled with boxes that had been sealed and chained down, they were violently rattling as the van hurtled down the road, and Adora’s head decided to join in. A sharp turn and the first girl was thrown back into Adora while the other girl almost fell out of the window being grabbed last minute by the boy who screamed, ‘Why haven’t you got your seatbelt on!’</p><p> </p><p>‘I don’ fuckin’ need it!’ she yelled back.</p><p> </p><p>‘Well clearly you do!’ he retorted, yanking her back before swerving at the last minute to avoid a crashed car. </p><p> </p><p>The girl on top of Adora leapt up and staggered to the front, ‘Swap Sky!’ she yelled and the boy rolled out of the seat as the two effortlessly changed positions, as if they were used to this. </p><p> </p><p>The boy, Sky, grabbed the discarded assault rifle and handed it to the white haired girl. </p><p> </p><p>‘Where’s yours!’ grunted the other girl angrily.</p><p> </p><p>‘I dropped it!’ the white haired girl responded, frustrated as she pointed the gun out of the window.</p><p> </p><p>‘You dropped the fucking machine gun!’ </p><p> </p><p>‘Focus on the fucking road Captain!’ </p><p> </p><p>‘You dropped the fucking machine gun!’</p><p> </p><p>‘Post!’ yelled Sky, and the whole van lurched left as the driver spun the van round. Sky clambered into a car seat that had clearly been stolen from a different van and bolted down, and pulled the seatbelt across him. He looked up, his green eyes latching with Adora’s blue and he gestured for her to crawl over to him. He pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, which Adora would have protested against if not for the sudden succession of sharp turns that followed quickly after. She was rather grateful for not being left to be thrown around. </p><p> </p><p>Behind her the two girls were still screaming at each other, but now they’d moved on to the driving of the first. <em> What did the other one call her? Captain?  </em></p><p> </p><p>‘Head for the motorway!’ said the voice with the thick accent. <em> Irish was it? </em>Adora had never been very good with accents. </p><p> </p><p>‘I am heading for the fucking motorway!’ retorted the slightly huskier voice, an American accent definitely. </p><p> </p><p>The van span again, Adora had no idea what was going on out there, but this was the worst rollercoaster she’d ever been on. </p><p> </p><p>‘Are you trying to get us killed?’</p><p> </p><p>‘Shut the fuck up Moon! I’m trying to fucking drive!’ shouted Captain.</p><p> </p><p>More gunshots, the roaring of the engine the violent shaking of the van. Sky’s head pressed against Adora’s shoulder and she could just hear him mumbling to himself. <em> Was he praying or something? </em></p><p> </p><p>It must have been a matter of minutes, but it felt longer, before the van finally stopped shaking and lurching, it just trundled straight, and a cheer went up from the front seat. Sky released Adora who just fell forward and lay gasping for air on the floor of the van.</p><p> </p><p>The Captain was whooping, ‘Haha mother fuckers, the Captain’s superior driving saves the day again! Look at that, we fucking lost them!’</p><p> </p><p>Sky also joined in with the clapping but the other girl remained still, ‘We almost fuckin’ died!’ she pointed out, angrily. </p><p> </p><p>‘That’s ‘cause you thought Lesser Fuckville, Wyoming would be pretty safe!’ the Captain retorted.</p><p> </p><p>‘Guys, guys!’ Sky interrupted, ‘Let’s just be grateful we’re alive. And anyway, we just saved someone’s life so I’m sure she’s glad we were in Lower Heartville today.’ </p><p> </p><p>At that Adora felt three pairs of eyes trained on her, so she sat up and stared at her rescuers. She could finally get a good look at them.</p><p> </p><p>The Captain was the short, angry woman; Adora could see her face properly now. She had dark skin littered with freckles, curly unkempt hair pulled back by a red bandana and cold, hard stare that pierced through Adora like daggers. Adora also noticed that she had heterochromia, her right eye was pale blue, her left, a bright hazel. </p><p> </p><p>Sky clearly had East Asian blood in him, but had dark green eyes in contrast. His tousled black hair fell in a messy fringe over his soft featured face. He was the only one of the three smiling.</p><p> </p><p>The final girl, <em> what was her name? Moon did they call her? </em> She had a hard stare too. She had very pale skin, and even lighter white hair that fell just over her shoulders. Her eyes were a strange shade of blue that looked almost violet in this light. </p><p> </p><p>The three of them stared down at her, probably expecting her to say something.</p><p> </p><p>‘Uh, hi,’ she began. <em> What the hell, who starts like that? </em>She facepalmed internally and tried again, ‘Thank you for rescuing me, I think I’d be dead if it weren’t for you guys.’ </p><p> </p><p>‘Probably,’ sniffed the Captain and turned her eyes back on the road. </p><p> </p><p>‘Your welcome,’ said Moon and cracked a genuine smile before turning back to glare at the Captain.</p><p> </p><p>Sky snorted, ‘Ignore them, they’re just grumpy. Hi, my name's Sky, that there’s Moon and that’s the Captain.’ </p><p> </p><p>So she had got them right, ‘Uh Adora,’ she replied and extended a hand, which Sky took.</p><p> </p><p>‘Sorry about grabbing you back then, I didn’t want you hitting your head,’ he said sheepishly.</p><p> </p><p>‘Don’t worry, I’m grateful really,’ Adora responded. </p><p> </p><p>‘So where you headed Blondie?’ called the Captain.</p><p> </p><p>Adora faltered. Where would she go? She had no home, that was overrun by zombies, no family to find, no friends either. Adora quickly realised that everyone she ever really cared about was long gone and she had absolutely no idea where the hell she was supposed to go. </p><p> </p><p>‘Uh, I don’t really…’ she trailed off. </p><p> </p><p>‘That’s cool, we’ll drop you off at the next non-zombie city if you want,’ said Moon, ‘That is, if there’s any left in the West. The virus spreads quickly, I doubt there’s any non-infected cities left in Wyoming.’</p><p> </p><p>‘Told you we shouldn’t have stopped here,’ snapped the Captain.</p><p> </p><p>‘Fuck off,’ snarled Moon.</p><p> </p><p>‘Guys!’ Sky cut across them, ‘Not now ok.’</p><p> </p><p>The two girls fell silent. Sky continued, ‘We’re back on the road, we’ll keep heading west till we find something. We’ll just keep going, ‘cause that’s what we do.’ </p><p> </p><p>As if it had heard him, the entire van suddenly ground to a halt.</p><p> </p><p>‘Why did we stop,’ he asked, confused. </p><p> </p><p>‘We’re outta petrol,’ Moon murmured, tapping the display meter.</p><p> </p><p>The Captain slammed her fists on the dash board, ‘For fuck’s sake!’</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Next time: Stranded on the motorway with the armada of Lower Heartville zombies just over the horizon, Adora and her rescuers must get the empty van to a gas station and fast, or risk becoming zombie food.  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2 - The Freeway</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1>
  <b>Chapter 2 </b>
</h1><h1>
  <em> The Freeway </em>
</h1><p> </p><p>‘Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!’ The Captain was kicking her heavy boots into the tyres of the van in anger. She ran her fingers through her messy hair and exhaled sharply. </p><p> </p><p>Adora’s rescuers had broken down within minutes of driving full speed out of Lower Heartville, on the freeway heading west. Apparently they hadn’t seen a gas station in a while and had accidentally burnt through all of their petrol while doing the daring escape that had led them to pick up Adora. They were standing by the silver van trying to think of what to do next.</p><p> </p><p>‘I told you we shouldn’t have gone through Wyoming!’ she declared in frustration. </p><p> </p><p>‘It’s hardly Wyoming’s fault that you didn’t find a gas station,’ snapped Moon as she assessed the surroundings.</p><p> </p><p>‘I didn't find a gas station?’ the Captain snarled.</p><p> </p><p>‘Guys,’ Sky yelled, ‘Look!’</p><p> </p><p>Adora did look and saw a blue sign by the side of the road, it said there was a gas station in one mile. </p><p> </p><p>Sky looked at them all, ‘One mile, all of us pushing, we can make it in about half an hour, I’m certain.’ <em> What an optimist, </em>Adora thought, it would be better to just dump the van and go off on foot, or hijack a different car; she’d seen a couple of zombie movies, that was what most heroes did. </p><p> </p><p>But to Adora’s surprise the Captain nodded her head, ‘It’s either that or abandoning it, and I’m not too keen on dumping all our stuff and starting over.’ </p><p> </p><p>Moon also nodded in agreement and started off round the back of the van, followed by the other two. </p><p> </p><p>The Captain threw her leather jacket through the open van window and looked back at Adora, ‘Come on, Blondie. Unless you want to be left by the side of the road.’ But the second Adora began to follow her, the Captain noticed something, ‘You’re limping,’ she murmured.</p><p> </p><p>Adora hadn’t even noticed, she looked down at her leg where the blood had seeped through the weak attempt at bandaging the gash. In all the terror, she hadn’t noticed the wound getting worse. </p><p> </p><p>Sky poked his head round the back of the van to look at her, ‘We should probably get that fixed up,’ he said and reached into the small satchel slung over his arm, producing a first aid kit.</p><p> </p><p>‘You two do that, me and Moon will get this fucking van going,’ said the Captain, bluntly, before turning on her heels. </p><p> </p><p>Sky crossed over the empty motorway to the central reservation, ‘You might want to sit down,’ he suggested and Adora obliged, rolling up her jogging bottoms to reveal the bloody mess. It was pretty horrific, very deep and thin, still crimson red and seeping blood. The bandages had slipped and weren’t really doing much to help anymore; Sky quickly removed them and started pouring a tiny bottle of alcohol over the wound, making Adora cry out in pain. </p><p> </p><p>‘Yeah I know it's pretty awful, but it’s antiseptic so it’s definitely worth it,’ Sky said, comfortingly, ‘Try to take your mind off it… Uh, what school do you go to?’ </p><p> </p><p>‘I’m taking a gap year,’ she responded, still wincing, ‘To raise money for college.’</p><p> </p><p>‘No way, you're nineteen?’ he exclaimed, ‘I thought you were in high school!’ </p><p> </p><p>Adora didn’t really know how to respond to that so she didn’t. </p><p> </p><p>‘I’m sixteen, in junior year, so is Moon, but she’s seventeen,’ he pulled a roll of adhesive tape out of the kit and began applying it, pulling together the edges of the wound; he must of sensed her confusion and said, ‘It’s not that wide and we’re on the road so supplies are limited. Anyway, the Captain likes to pretend she's older but I reckon she’s about eighteen, probably in senior year.’</p><p> </p><p>‘Why do you call her Captain?’ Adora inquired.</p><p> </p><p>Sky laughed, ‘She won’t give us her real name, so it's just what we called her as a joke, it kind of stuck ‘cause we quickly found out that she knows her stuff. She’s got me out of a few tricky situations, I’ll tell you.’</p><p> </p><p>‘So is Sky not your real name?’ </p><p> </p><p>‘Nope, we don’t use our real names, Captain’s rule,’ he fished out a roll of bandages. Adora stared at the two girls pushing the van, they’d surprisingly made about ten metres.</p><p> </p><p>‘Captain says to not give your real name out on the road, or else people can use it against you. Not quite sure what that means but it seems kinda smart ya think?’</p><p> </p><p>Adora shrugged. Sky finished wrapping the bandages tightly round the wound and picked up a safety pin out of the top pocket of his blue jacket, fastening them securely, ‘Right that should hold, we would offer you another pair of pants but you’re kind of a lot taller than all of us,’ he gestured to her jogging bottoms.’</p><p> </p><p>‘To be honest, I have a lot more to worry about than clothes,’ she said sheepishly.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>… </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The van was heavy, really heavy; Adora wondered if it could be lighter if they didn’t carry so much ammo, but the Captain seemed quite attached to it, so she resolved not to suggest it. <em>Where did she even get all that ammo?</em> But with four people they found themselves moving at a pretty steady pace; Adora joined Moon and the Captain in stripping off her jacket because it was unnaturally hot for Wyoming that day. </p><p> </p><p>After about a quarter of an hour, Moon decided to engage Adora in some small talk, ‘So are you originally from Wyoming or?’</p><p> </p><p>‘Uh, I don’t know originally, but I’ve lived in Lower Heartville all my life.’</p><p> </p><p>‘That’s rough, I cannae imagine living there. No offence but from wha’ I saw it seems like this outbreak is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened there.’</p><p> </p><p>Adora nodded in agreement, and asked, ‘Where are you guys from?’.</p><p> </p><p>Moon swapped pushing position, ‘East coast, New Jersey, but I’m not originally, obviously.’</p><p> </p><p>‘Right, where is that accent from?’ </p><p> </p><p>Moon smiled and tilted her head to the side, ‘Scotland.’</p><p> </p><p>‘That’s in Europe right?’</p><p> </p><p>Moon laughed at this and nodded, ‘Aye, Europe.’</p><p> </p><p>Sky broke off from pushing to catch his breath, he was doubled over, sweating furiously. Moon broke off to make sure he was alright, Adora could see her rubbing his back and quietly fussing over him as he tried to communicate through shattered breaths that he was fine, he just forgot to breathe for a moment. The Captain was watching them a half-smile playing on her lips, <em> that’s literally the happiest I’ve seen her since she outdrove those zombies. </em></p><p> </p><p>‘Where are <em> you </em> from?’ she asked.</p><p> </p><p>‘Why do you wanna know?’ the Captain snapped, her cold exterior returned.</p><p> </p><p>Adora, slightly taken aback, spluttered out, ‘Oh I’m sorry, I just wondered-’</p><p> </p><p>The Captain looked her dead in the eyes, ‘Here’s a tip for being on the run, don’t talk about your past. Don’t open up to people, don’t give them information, ‘cause people use what they got on you against you,’ she looked away from Adora who took this as the end of their conversation.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>…</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Despite what Sky had said about it only being half an hour, it had been well over an hour before he announced that, through his binoculars, he could see the gas station clear as day.</p><p> </p><p>Ignoring the Captain’s advice about not discussing your past, Adora had learned a lot about Moon and Sky. They were both attending the same school in New Jersey and had both been there when the zombie virus first hit. Their headteacher smashed the door of their English classroom off its hinges and proceeded to rip the face off the teacher. They’d ended up stuck in the same store closet as the zombies devoured their classmates but made makeshift weapons from the mops and managed to get out into the corridor where the carnage was everywhere. Being chased by a cluster of their former classmates, they’d escaped through a fire exit by the kitchens but not before Moon had set all the stoves alight. They’d barely made it off the grounds by the time the whole building was up in smoke. <em> A bit excessive but it worked I guess. </em> They’d ended up on the run and found themselves having some trouble with a group of muggers before, through pure luck, they’d been rescued by a girl in a silver van who threatened off the muggers with an assault rifle and fed them soup. The girl in question was the Captain and they decided now they were basically best friends and attached themselves to her.</p><p> </p><p>‘We were just running and struggling, she taught us how to fight the zombies and survive on the road. We kinda owe her a lot,’ Sky remarked, which made the Captain flush pink and look away in embarrassment.</p><p> </p><p>When Adora had asked about their families, both of them fell silent and looked away. She didn't press it. Unlike her it seemed that they had people they had lost, parents she assumed, maybe more; she could only imagine what that was like for them, to lose someone like that. The only person Adora had ever lost was her basketball coach and she guessed it wasn’t quite the same. Her parents were never in the picture, abandoning her a long time ago, letting her grow up in the foster care system where she went in and out of homes, never really sticking. Eventually people just stopped fostering her and it kind of stung, Adora quickly realised that people don’t really care about you unless you can do something they need, whether it be a good basketball player to boost the school’s performance or be their perfect child to make them proud and give them an ego boost off parenting a good child. She was sure that not every foster care family was like that, but in the overly friendly yet horribly patronising Lower Heartville they certainly were.</p><p> </p><p>The Captain grabbed the binoculars off Sky, dragging him along too, she eyed up the gas station, ‘If we give a last push, we’ll be there in ten.’ </p><p> </p><p>The team complied swiftly, digging their heels into the road and exerting as much force as they could onto the back of the van, propelling it forward. Adora just knew that her muscles would ache tonight.</p><p> </p><p>‘So when we get on the road,’ began Sky, ‘are we gonna head west?’ </p><p> </p><p>‘May’s well,’ grunted the Captain, ‘it’s either that or find out if Canada’s doing well.’ </p><p> </p><p>‘I’ve never been west before,’ remarked Adora, ‘I’ve been to Minnesota through South Dakota but that’s about it.’</p><p> </p><p>‘What so you’ve never been to California?’ gasped Sky, ‘Or New York?’</p><p> </p><p>Adora shook her head. Moon seconded her. </p><p> </p><p>‘Yeah but you don’t count,’ interjected the Captain, ‘You ain’t a born American.’ </p><p> </p><p>Adora swapped position, trying to shift the weight off her bad leg, but her good leg really ached by this point, so there wasn’t much difference. The movement caused her head to spin, she gripped it and stumbled. The Captain must have noticed because she pulled her away from the van for a moment, offering her a drink of water from the small square bottle she kept in her belt. </p><p> </p><p>‘You doin’ ok?’ she asked, concerned.</p><p> </p><p>Adora took the bottle gratefully and sipped it, ‘Yes, I’m fine, just dehydrated.’</p><p> </p><p>The Captain chuckled, ‘Then drink.’ Adora took some more sips. ‘And more,’ she prompted, ‘Honestly, we have more water. Drink.’ </p><p> </p><p>Adora finished half the bottle before handing it back and wiping her mouth. The Captain clapped a hand on her shoulder and guided her back to the van, ‘Take a sec if you need,’ she said.</p><p> </p><p>‘No, I’m fine really,’ Adora took her place again and started pushing. The Captain just smiled. <em> I like it when she smiles, it’s much better than when she frowns.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Adora had only known this girl for a few hours but already she’d figured out a pattern. The Captain wasn’t a grumpy asshole like she’d first given the impression of, she was a pretty cool and rather caring person. But she could snap in the blink of an eye, shut you down with a snarl. Adora had no idea why she was like this but it did make her uneasy to know one moment you could be having a pleasant conversation and the next she’d be snapping at you to ‘shut up’ and ‘back off.’ </p><p> </p><p>They’d made it, the van was trundling into the gas station. Sky broke off to go find a way to refill the tank. Moon suggested raiding the store before heading on their way, so the girls broke off to do so.</p><p> </p><p>The store was cold, the AC was still humming. Whoever had been working there that morning left in a hurry. Moon opened up the freezer and chucked a Magnum at the Captain.</p><p> </p><p>She gestured to Adora to take one, ‘In a few days, all the generators will be down and you won’t be able to get cold stuff like this.’</p><p> </p><p>‘Isn’t it kind of, well, stealing?’ </p><p> </p><p>‘I’m sure the lord above can make an exception for a zombie apocalypse,’ called the Captain from the back of the shop. </p><p> </p><p>‘Aye Captain, though I do wonder if it was the lord above who sent this plague.’</p><p> </p><p>‘If he wanted to wipe out mankind, he should have sent another flood.’ The two of them chuckled about this, Adora just sucked on her Ice Pop. </p><p> </p><p>An exclamation of joy came from the back of the store, ‘Gas canisters! Moon, they have gas canisters! You can finally do some fucking cooking!’ Moon excitedly ran to the back and held the canisters aloft as if they were some kind of powerful video game reward. ‘Cold, dry food no more, hello to eggs for breakfast!’</p><p> </p><p>Just then Sky came into the store, ‘Hose is in, anybody see the controls?’</p><p> </p><p>‘Here,’ said Adora, hitting the authorisation panel behind the cash register. </p><p> </p><p>‘Thanks, ooh, is that ice cream? I haven’t had ice cream in weeks.’ </p><p> </p><p>‘That’s not all,’ exclaimed Rayla, appearing from the dairy aisle and producing a gas canister, ‘I can cook again!’</p><p> </p><p>Adora watched in disbelief as the three of them celebrated yet again about finding gas canisters. The Captain caught her eye and laughed, ‘Cut us some slack Blondie, we haven’t eaten hot food in a week.’</p><p> </p><p>Raiding a store was nowhere near as fun as it sounds. Between the four of them, they cleared the shelves of non-perishable goods, mainly cans of pasta sauce. But they could eat whatever they fancied and Adora polished off four sandwiches, three tiny plastic yogurt pots and half a bar of chocolate before carrying a box of gas canisters to the van. These canisters were apparently very important as the only cooking equipment the team had was an old, camping gas cooker that required canisters to work, and they’d run out a week ago. Apparently the empty cans were also good for throwing at zombies. They also searched for medical supplies but there were none. </p><p> </p><p>Moon picked up a bottle of champagne, ‘Hey, what do you lot think? Bottle o’ champagne for the occasion?’</p><p> </p><p>‘No way,’ said the Captain, ‘Alcohol lowers reaction speed, which is pretty shit for our current situation.’ </p><p> </p><p>Moon huffed but put it back, ‘I don’t see why we cannae have a bit o’ fun every now and then.’ The Captain didn’t respond. Moon continued, ‘I mean, we’ll all get mopey if we don’t-’ </p><p> </p><p>But Moon couldn’t finish her sentence before the shelves toppled over on top of her. </p><p> </p><p>The clanging of metal shelves and shattering of the contents was deafening as every shelf in the store came tumbling down. Adora and the Captain jumped back, narrowly avoiding being taken out by a shelf. Two zombies groaned in the doorway to the storeroom, lumbering toward them. The Captain was quick, in a second she’d shot them both clean through the head and rushed to find Moon who was crying out in pain. Suddenly there was a shout for help form outside followed by a round of gunshots. The two looked through the big front windows and saw Sky shooting down the first wave of an approaching onslaught of zombies. The Captain looked panicked and just stood in the middle of the store frozen, eyes darting from Moon to Sky. </p><p> </p><p>Adora jumped into action, ‘Help Sky, I’ll get Moon!’ she yelled at the Captain who complied immediately, barging through the station’s doors and unleashing a spray of bullets. Adora moved to the shelves and could just make out the body of Moon, screaming for help. There was one course of action: move the shelves. Heart pounding she hooked her arm under the stack and braced herself. <em> Come on Adora. It’s just like weightlifting. </em> With a loud roar, she heaved the stack of metal up. Her arms screamed with pain, but by this point she’d stopped listening to her body and just listened to her breathing. <em> Deep breaths. Oxygen is very important, especially if you're doing sport. </em>Lifting stacks of metal shelves off your friends probably counted as a sport. She kept pushing, the shelves lifted high enough for Moon to slip out and stagger towards the door, brandishing two long knives. Adora let the shelves fall to the floor with an almighty crash that rang through her ears. She followed Moon out of the store towards the van, where Sky and the Captain were already positioned, spraying bullets at the zombies. </p><p> </p><p>‘Why are there so many?’ exclaimed Adora as she collapsed into the van. </p><p> </p><p>‘Well,’ said the Captain, ‘when zombies have run out of prey in the big city, they tend to-’ she blasted a zombie in the face, ‘spread out, into the countryside. Those are the ex-residents of Lesser Cartville.’ </p><p> </p><p>Adora was too exhausted to correct her; in the amassing crowd of zombies, she thought she saw the bus driver that tried to eat her and the old lady who lived in the apartment next to her. <em> It’s official, Lower Heartville has fallen. </em>She took one last look at the monsters her ex-fellow citizens had become before the doors of the van slammed shut and the Captain had hit the gas pedal hard, sending the van screeching back onto the road and speeding away from the crowd.</p><p> </p><p><b>…</b> </p><p> </p><p>They drove for several hours after that, pretty much in total silence. </p><p> </p><p>Moon was uninjured from the shelves, but very grateful that Adora had lifted them off her, ‘I probably would’ve been crushed if you didn’t get ‘em off me.’</p><p> </p><p>Adora just sat in the passenger seat staring out of the window; her whole body ached and she was thoroughly exhausted to her core. <em> I don’t think I’ve ever done this much physical activity in one day. Not even the basketball finals came close to this. </em>The Wyoming countryside zipped by, a blur of green and grey, dull. Just forests and mountains for miles and miles. The hum of the van engine was steady as it sped down an empty freeway, heading much further west than Adora had ever been. It felt a little pathetic, that she’d been alive for nineteen years and she’d left her home state once for a weekend camping trip. In Minnesota. </p><p> </p><p>Behind her, Sky was fiddling with a radio. Just sitting there, with a little book, writing down and crossing out frequencies, twiddling dials.</p><p> </p><p>‘He’s tryna find his aunt,’ was all the Captain would say.</p><p> </p><p>Moon was asleep. Adora felt tempted to join her, but something was keeping her awake, probably raw adrenaline. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>… </b>
</p><p>The sun was just dipping behind the tallest distant mountain, illuminating the sky in a rich orange glow, fringed with pale reds, when the van rolled to a stop. This awoke Moon, who sat up abruptly and reached for her knife.</p><p> </p><p>‘Cool your jets Moon, we're just making a stop,’ said the Captain, yawning, ‘Waddya say about whipping somethin’ up?’</p><p> </p><p>Adora was slightly confused by this but understood when Moon leapt up and pulled out the old camping stove. <em> Oh, food! I could do with that right now. </em>As the four jumped out of the van, the Captain walked straight into the wood, vaulting over the freeway barrier. The other two made no move to suggest this was abnormal so Adora sat down and watched Sky fuss over lighting the stove only for Moon to set it ablaze with one strike of a match. Within minutes the smell of cooking tomato pasta filled the air. </p><p> </p><p>Adora’s mind wandered to other things so it took her moment to realise that Sky was talking to her. </p><p> </p><p>‘So Moon tells me that you lifted a ton of shelves all by yourself,’ he said.</p><p> </p><p>‘Aye she did,’ said Moon, nodding vigorously, ‘I bet I woulda died if she hadn’t.’</p><p> </p><p>Adora just blushed and looked down.</p><p> </p><p>Moon continued, ‘I’m not being funny, she proper lifted them up. She was all like ‘raaaaaa’ and suddenly I could breathe again.’ Moon’s impression was pretty bad but Adora could barely remember the event, it was just a blur.</p><p> </p><p>‘Like Hulk,’ joked Sky, ‘She-Hulk even.’</p><p> </p><p>‘Oh that could be your road name,’ said Moon, tilting her head to one side.</p><p> </p><p>‘What? She-Hulk?’ inquired Adora; she didn’t really want to be named after a comic book character.</p><p> </p><p>‘No like, She-Ra,’ Moon said, ‘Ya know, ‘cause that’s the sound you make.’ </p><p> </p><p>Adora buried her face in her hands, ‘Oh my god,’ she was bright red.</p><p> </p><p>Sky and Moon just cracked up laughing and, in spite of herself, Adora laughed too. <em> Whelp, guess I’m She-Ra now. </em> Adora hadn’t laughed like this in awhile, it was one of those good laughs that leave you breathless and with a stomach ache. In the midst of trying to juggle finances and living expenses, all while holding onto the job she hated by a string just trying to keep afloat in the sea of paperwork long enough to make it into college, Adora realised that what she had been missing is people to talk to. She didn’t see the point before, friends took up time, time she didn’t have, and what kind of person would want to be friends with her anyway? But here, even with two people she’d met <em> that day, </em> she realised that maybe friends wasn't such a bad idea after all.</p><p> </p><p>‘Oh bloody fucker!’ cried Moon as the pasta started to boil over the side of the pot, ‘Sky go get the fucking bowls! Hey She-Ra, go get the Captain would ya?’</p><p> </p><p>Adora jumped up and clambered over the freeway barrier. The woods were getting darker by the minute and Adora nearly tripped over an exposed tree root.</p><p> </p><p>‘Captain?’ she called, ‘You there?’</p><p> </p><p>No reply.</p><p> </p><p>She ventured deeper, squinting into the darkness. She heard a rustle of leaves behind a tree and followed the noise. Sitting in a dent in the trunk of a tree, hunched up gazing into the inky black of the forest was the Captain. On seeing Adora she jumped up and wiped her eyes, it was too dark to know for sure, but she looked like she’d been crying.</p><p> </p><p>‘Uh so, Moon told me to tell you that-’ Adora was cut off by the Captain stalking up to her and grabbing the front of her jacket.</p><p> </p><p>‘What’s your deal?’ she demanded. Adora just stood there, dumbfounded. The Captain continued, ‘We pick you up from certain death in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and you don’t once ask if we can take you somewhere?’ </p><p> </p><p>‘Well I mean I-’ </p><p> </p><p>‘We’ve picked people up before ya know!’ The Captain’s grip tightened, ‘And they always wanna go somewhere, family, friends, whatever! So why don’t you? Huh?’</p><p> </p><p>‘I don’t have any family,’ said Adora, quietly.</p><p> </p><p>The Captain’s face fell, she released Adora’s jacket. There was a long pause. </p><p> </p><p>‘Orphan?’ asked the Captain, so quietly Adora almost didn’t hear. She nodded. ‘Oh.’</p><p> </p><p>She moved to say something but stopped short, another pause and she said, ‘Me too… I’m sorry.’ </p><p> </p><p>‘Are you ok?’ asked Adora, when the Captain didn’t respond she just said, ‘Dinner’s ready.’</p><p> </p><p>The Captain sniffed and looked Adora in the eyes, ‘You can stick with us for as long as you need, if that’s what you want.’</p><p> </p><p>Adora nodded awkwardly, the Captain’s gaze was very hard, but not cold and unwelcoming anymore, ‘Thank you.’</p><p>
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  <em> Next time: The team shelters in an old church on a hill on a particularly stormy night. However things go awry when something stirs just outside the chapel. Will Adora ever not be fighting for her life again? </em>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And chapter two is done, again this is my first fic so please be nice. Constructive criticism is welcomed. :) Callum is the sweetest.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Church</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for reading this far &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1>
  <b>Chapter 3</b>
</h1>
<h1>
  <em>
    <span>The Church</span>
  </em>
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<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The rain was coming down thick and fast. Visibility was low and in the growing darkness, the Captain decided to take the van off the freeway. They’d been driving for well over twenty-four hours, alternating sleep schedules and taking turns at the wheel. Adora, who’d never driven a day in her life, decided it would be best not to, despite being offered lessons by the Captain. She didn’t quite remember crossing the border into Utah, but she’d been informed by Sky that the city she could see in the distance at about 3:00pm was Salt Lake City. From the lack of life-signs she suspected the virus had spread there too. Apparently, they were driving roughly on Route 15, that would take them through Las Vegas and down to Los Angeles. After that, they didn’t really know what they would do. Try to get a boat? Drive up to San Francisco? All that was so far in the future, right now they were driving carefully down backroads trying to find somewhere to park the van and get out of the storm. The van was crawling along, all eyes were trained on the road as they scanned for refuge. The headlights weren't much help, one of them had broken in an impact from a couple weeks ago. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘There!’ announced Moon, pointing into the darkness. Adora squinted but still couldn’t see whatever it was she was pointing to. The Captain apparently could though, and turned into a road Adora hadn’t even noticed. The road in question was steep and narrow, winding up a hill, and after almost burning out the clutch, the van pulled up in front of a tall black building. Moon threw on a big overcoat and jumped out, running to the heavy wood door; after a moment a slither of light appeared and the other two started moving hastily. Seeing she was lost on what to do, Sky threw a pair of sleeping bags at her and told her to head inside. </span>
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<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Darting through the door she realised the building was a large church with towering arches supporting the high ceiling. It was dimly illuminated by half-melted candles lit along the wall that caused shadows to dance along the stone walls. The central aisle was lined with rows of wooden pews and had a carpet runner all the way down that was an ugly shade of green. It was cold, but at least dry.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Nice o’ them to leave the lights on, ‘ey?’ remarked Moon, dumping her stuff on one of the pews and putting her hands on her hips. Sky and the Captain hurried through the door, carrying flashlights, guns and a huge bucket of water that Adora assumed they got from the big unmarked tank lodged at the back of the van.</span>
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<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Oh cozy,’ said Sky, ‘Loving the decor.’ </span>
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<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Why thank you,’ responded Moon, ‘You like my rug?’ </span>
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<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Beautiful, I love the colour,’ he joked back. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora giggled and set out the two sleeping bags. She noticed the Captain was scouting the walls, running her figures over the brickwork. After the weird encounter last night, Adora was a little wary of her; but resolving to attempt a do-over with her, approached her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Hey Captain. Watcha doin’?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her hands fell to her side, ‘Nothing. What are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> doing?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Hey no fair, I asked first,’ Adora laughed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Just inspecting the brickwork,’ the Captain shrugged nonchalantly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora leaned against a pillar, ‘And how’s the brickwork?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘It’s decent, definitely holdin’ up.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Are you a connoisseur of brickwork?’ she asked, a smile on her lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Of a sort.’ The Captain looked down and shook her head, ‘I’m just not a fan of churches.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Why?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I had a friend once who liked them, she loved the architecture and the art and the feel of them. But she’s dead now. So I don’t like them,’ the Captain pinched the bridge of her nose and scrunched up her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora wasn’t expecting the Captain to actually tell her something about herself. There was an awkward silence that followed as she struggled to think of something to say. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Her name was Lonnie,’ continued the Captain, ‘and she-’ she stopped short, ‘You don’t wanna hear this.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I don’t mind,’ Adora reassured her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No really you don’t.’ The Captain began to walk away but Adora followed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Well talk about something else then,’ she said enthusiastically. </span>
  <em>
    <span>For hell's sake, can’t I have one normal interaction with this girl? </span>
  </em>
  <span>‘Do you have any hobbies?’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain raised an eyebrow, ‘What kinda bullshit small talk is that?’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Answer the question.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I can play the guitar, kind of,’ she replied. She had reached a wooden side door that led outside, ‘Give me a hand with this.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Together they shuffled a long wooden pew over the door. It narrowed down entrances where they could be ambushed from.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘The guitar huh?’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Yep, but I’m pretty shit so don’t ask me to show you anytime. What about you?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Uh I play basketball, well used to, I mean I still can but I’m not on any teams anymore, not since I graduated,’ Adora stumbled over her words, people didn’t really ask things about her personal life, they usually just ordered her about.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Right, graduation. I was supposed to graduate this year,’ the Captain sniffed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I thought you didn’t discuss your past with people?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I can make an exception for you,’ the Captain looked her dead in the eyes, which made Adora’s cheeks flush. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Her stare is just really intense.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>…</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After ‘securing the perimeter’, the two returned to the middle of the church where Moon was staring intently at a pot of cooking rice, while perching in Sky’s lap. He was back twiddling the dials of his radio, head resting on her back, crossing things out furiously. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Hey you two save room for Jesus,’ jeered the Captain. Moon stuck her tongue out at her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘So,’ started the Captain, ‘there’s two sleeping bags, I say we take it in turns sleeping in pairs and set out the second it stops raining.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon sat up, ‘Don’t you think we should wait till mornin’? It’ll be dangerous goin’ down that hill at night.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No we shouldn’t stay in one place too long or we’ll never make it to LA. Gotta keep movin’ or they might catch up,’ the Captain responded firmly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Isn’t it a wee bit bad for us to keep fuckin’ with our sleep schedule like this?’ retorted Moon.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Better that then Zombie food; when the storm passes we’re outta here.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Ok but do we have too? It’s kinda nice in here and I’m with Moon, it’s not good to mess up your body clock,’ Sky interjected, ‘It’s got negative health effects.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I’m sorry where did I ask for your opinion Sky,’ snapped the Captain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Hey!’ Moon stood up, ‘Don’t speak to him like that.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Piss off,’ she snarled back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No, you don’t get to say that kinda stuff to him, he’s tryna help,’ Moon was going red with anger.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Hey,’ Sky gripped her hand, ‘Let’s not do this ok?’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Fucking fine,’ the Captain yelled, exasperated, ‘We can stay till the fucking morning, see if I give a fucking shit.’ With that she turned on her heels and stalked off, pulling her jacket collar up and kicking a pew. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon just glared at her, still fuming. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Rayla please, you know what she’s like, she’ll be fine in the morning,’ Sky pleaded, tugging at her hand. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Rayla? Was that her real name? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘More like she’ll just pretend it didn’t happen, she should bloody fuckin’ apologise,’ hissed Moon. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora just stood there silently; she contemplated going over to the Captain but after she heard the sound of the altar crashing over she decided against it. She wasn’t sure what she’d just witnessed but she resolved to opt out of the situation and just sit down on the carpet runner. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sky managed to calm Moon down and she focused on finishing the food. Some simple egg-fried rice it may have been but to Adora it was heavenly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Oi,’ called Moon towards the Captain, ‘you want any of this?’ She just got a middle finger in response and Sky set aside a bowl in case she changed her mind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon and Sky fell asleep pretty quickly, in each other's arms no less, leaving Adora and the still fuming Captain, who had reluctantly returned for rice, on first watch.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora stared at the long shadows that danced under the arches in the dim orange glow of flickering candles like graceful dancers to a fast paced tune. The rain had stopped and she noticed that the Captain had made no move to get back on the road. She just sat nearby, hunched, looking away. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora pondered on what she’d learnt today about the mysterious Captain. She’d had a friend, who liked churches, who had died. She wondered if it had been by the apocalypse or something else entirely. Adora thought of everyone she knew from the overly friendly yet horribly patronising Lower Heartville. She couldn’t name one interesting thing about any of them, nor was she particularly torn up about losing them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I mean it’s sad, but I can’t say I feel broken inside over them. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sometimes she wished she had a family. A mom, or a dad, or a grandma. An aunt and uncle? Just someone to talk to, to care about her. From a young age she’d see the other kids be picked up by their families from school everyday and she’d wish she was like them. But now she wondered how she’d even interact with a parent. What would she say? Would they hang out, or would they not have time for her? Would they go to her graduation? Would they pay for college? It was weird to think about. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She barely noticed the Captain shuffle over towards her and hunch opposite her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I’m sorry that I lashed out earlier,’ the girl murmured.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘It’s not really me you owe an apology to,’ said Adora, not making eye contact. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I know,’ she said in a small voice, ‘it’s just harder with them. It’s harder with people you care about.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora just nodded. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Not that I don’t care about you,’ she added quickly, ‘it’s just-’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘It’s okay. I get it.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A moment of silence.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I will apologise. At some point.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Of course.’ Adora shivered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain cocked her head, ‘You cold?’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before Adora could answer the Captain had shimmied off her leather jacket, shuffled over and threw it around her shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Aren’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> cold,’ Adora asked, a little shocked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora didn’t believe her, she was sitting there in just a red tank top. She wanted to give it back but didn't want to offend the Captain. She had to admit it was warmer with her jacket though. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>…</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next few hours passed in relative silence. At around 1:00am the Captain went and poked Sky awake, who woke up Moon, who jolted upright violently. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora took the opportunity to hand back the jacket to the Captain who just took it awkwardly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They switched sleeping bags wordlessly and Adora was out before her head even hit the pillow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>… </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She awoke to the deafening shatter of glass.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Rayla!’ came a shout that echoed through the church.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Within seconds Adora was stood up, bleary eyed, but alert. Terrified, she scanned the chamber; behind a column she spotted Moon pressed to the ground by a rotting corpse frantically hacking at it with a hunting knife. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sky pushed past her, brandishing a handgun which he aimed at the zombie, ‘Rayla I can’t get a hit!’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A loud blast from another gun sent it keeling over as it’s head was blasted off its shoulders in a shower of blood. The Captain held the smoking gun. Moon jumped up and scampered back as another zombie crawled out from the arch, followed by another, and another.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain let rip, sending the first lot sprawling to the ground, but they kept coming. Adora just stood there helplessly as they spilled out into the church, dragging their bloody feet across the stones. A thundering clatter shook the building as the side door, once barricaded with pews, blasted off its hinges and more zombies spilled into the church. Moon was up front hacking and slashing at the onslaught. The four began to back up as Sky shoved a handgun at Adora and screamed at her to shoot, which she did, very badly, but with so many zombies even her stray shots hit something. The recoil on the gun was not something she expected or accounted for and found herself needing two hands to keep it steady. She threw a glance at the Captain who was using an assault rifle one handed as she scooped up and threw on her discarded jacket. Suddenly another crash and several more windows shattered, spraying glass everywhere. It seems that the zombies were breaking through the stained glass windows to get to them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How many are there!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sky was panicking, Moon was determinedly holding them off and the Captain- </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A fold in the runner, that was all it took. A little bump where she caught her foot and in a second, the Captain was tripping backwards. Adora watched her helplessly as her head collided with the floor with a huge crack; she stumbled toward her motionless body. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Fuck fuck fuck,’ Adora frantically shook the Captain to no response. She checked her pulse, </span>
  <em>
    <span>still beating. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Moon hadn’t seen the two of them but yelled for everyone to head for the van.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With no other options, Adora stuffed her gun in her pocket and tucked her arms under the Captain, gathering her up and heading to the front door of the church where Sky was holding it open, his eyes wide with fear. Moon was just behind her, slicing a zombie’s head clean off with a well aimed blow. The Captain fortunately was very light making the dash across the courtyard to the van surprisingly easy, Sky yanked the sliding door open and Adora collapsed onto the van floor. In another moment Moon was behind the wheel, hitting the gas pedal. It was still pitch black outside, the road only being illuminated by a single beam of weak light. In these following moments, Adora thought she would probably die here as the van overturned or hit a tree. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The road was still wet and slippery and it made the van skid this way and that, as it went careening down the hillside. Adora just clung to the limp body of the Captain, pressing herself against the side of the van, head tucked down. There were shouts over the roar of the engine but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please just let this be over. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Her limbs ached, the gash on her leg burned, there were tears streaming down her face. Never before had she wished this hard to be back in the dormitories of her orphanage where it was safe and warm and quiet. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed like forever but eventually the van hit flat ground and stopped rattling but Adora didn’t move till sunrise when they came to a stop. She gently lay the Captain down on the floor of the van as Moon and Sky moved over to her silently. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Is she, you know…’ asked Moon hesitantly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘She’s breathing,’ said Adora quietly. The girl exhaled sharply in relief.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sky looped his hand in Moon’s and asked, ‘What happened?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘She tripped, hit her head,’ Adora rubbed her forehead, she recognised this kind of injury, ‘I think she has a concussion.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon dipped her head and said in a small voice, ‘Oh fuck.’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Next time: Following the loss of their gear at the church, Sky and Moon venture into an abandoned mall. Adora, the resident concussion expert, stays behind to look after the Captain.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So there you go: chapter 3. Chapter 4 will probably be up tomorrow or the day after. </p>
<p>Some mega Catradora moments coming up, but I'm trying to keep it slow and realistic as it's only been 48 hours. My Rayllum shipping instincts went a bit hard this chapter. Whoops</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Mall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1>
  <b>Chapter 4</b>
</h1>
<h1>
  <em>
    <span>The Mall</span>
  </em>
</h1>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘How do we deal with concussions?’ asked Sky, nervously, his eyes darting between the three girls. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘We don’t,’ Adora replied bluntly, ‘We just hope she wakes up and go from there.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘And if she doesn’t wake up?’ Moon asked in a shaky voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘She will.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘But if she doesn’t.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘She will,’ Adora’s voice was firm and reassuring but on the inside she was just as frightened as the other two. In truth she didn’t really know all that much about concussions, she could recognise them and could remember key symptoms but had to rack her memory for the treatment. They hadn’t really gone into detail about that on the first aid course she’d taken when she was fifteen, probably because once the concussed individual was in the ambulance, it wasn’t her concern anymore. But they didn’t have an ambulance. They had Adora. And Adora was secretly scared stiff.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon just sat back and buried her face in her hands, ‘This is my fault,’ she groaned, ‘If we’d just left when she said we should-’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Rayla,’ Sky put his arm around her, ‘You couldn’t have known.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I shoulda just listened!’ Moon cried, ‘This is-’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He put his hand on her cheek and lifted her face up to his, ‘Rayla, there’s not a single thing about this that’s your fault,’ he said firmly, ‘You cannot beat yourself up about this; you’re the reason we’re all still here.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘He’s right,’ Adora added in encouragement, ‘You can’t see the future, you couldn’t have known.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon just sank into Sky’s arms and began to sob gently, unfortunately this made Sky begin to cry too. Watching them, Adora felt herself begin to tear up, not just over the Captain but over the whole terrible, painful mess that her life had become. She knew there really was nobody to blame except the awful, life-destroying apocalypse that had inevitably consumed them all in one way or another. But Adora fought back the hot tears that had welled in the corners of her eyes and abruptly stood up. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There’s no use crying right now, we’re still in a dangerous position and we need to keep moving. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Right, ‘she announced, ‘we need to make a plan.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon and Sky looked up at her blankly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She took a deep breath, ‘Firstly, we need to take stock of everything we lost at the church. Then we need to figure out what to do about it.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She glanced between the two, Moon wiped her hand across her eyes and stood up too, ‘We lost most o’ our stuff, the sleeping bags, the cooking equipment, our flashlights and the bucket.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘We have another bucket though,’ Sky noted, also standing up to meet the two girls, ‘We can do without the bags and flashlights but without any gas cooker, the canisters we have are useless.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘And I don’ fancy goin’ another week with no hot meals,’ Moon said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Ok so we should try to replace that,’ Adora nodded, ‘Another thing, do you guys have any paracetamol or… ibuprofen?’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘We have aspirin,’ Sky suggested. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She thought for a moment. She was sure that aspirin wasn’t good for concussions but she couldn’t remember why, ‘I don’t think aspirin works, we need to find some other painkillers for the Captain, when she wakes up she’s gonna have one hell of a headache.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘We can get most o’ that at a supermarket or somethin’. If there’s any round here,’ Moon looked at Sky for an answer.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘There might be, especially in Salt Lake City,’ he replied.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘How far away is Salt Lake City?’ asked Adora.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘From where we are?’ he said, ‘I have no idea. But we were about an hour out from it last night so… hopefully around that?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘What direction is it?’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t answer that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘You know what, we’ll just start driving till we see somewhere, or a sign to point us in the right direction,’’ Adora decided. It felt strange giving orders but Moon and Sky seemed ready to listen to her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Then what?’ asked Sky. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She faltered, </span>
  <em>
    <span>then what?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Whatever state the Captain was in, it's not like she could just jump up and start a mall raid. And they couldn’t just leave her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was Moon who had the answer, ‘Me an’ you, Callum, we’ll go out and look for stuff. Adora, you’ll stay here and make sure she-’ she gestured to the Captain, ‘don’ die.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It took Adora a second to realise that Moon was using their real names. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Callum. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘You’re the only one o’ us who knows shit about concussions, you gotta help her out,’ she continued; moments ago Moon had been curled up like a vulnerable child, now she was standing up straight, a fierce expression in her eyes, ‘We’ll take the AR, you keep the handguns and if we’re not back before the hour, assume the worst.’ Adora nodded in agreement, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that sounded like a plan.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was a grunt from the floor between them. All three of them looked down at the Captain who was stirring slowly, a pained expression on her face. Adora knelt next to her and whispered, ‘Captain?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her heterochromic eyes flickered open, she lay motionless for a second before inhaling sharply and attempting to sit up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora pressed her hands on the Captain’s shoulders and gently pushed her back down, ‘Hey Captain,’ she said quietly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘What happened,’ she groaned, ‘the zombies… I don’t remember…’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sensing growing distress, Adora said, ‘Don’t worry, we’re okay, everyone’s okay, we got out.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain closed her eyes and raised her hand to her forehead, ‘Why the fuck does my head hurt so much? Fucking assholes.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, she was okay.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>...</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain just kept lying on the floor of the van as it sped along the highway, the other occupants scanning the surrounding area for towns or cities that might have a place to raid. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It would help if there weren’t so many mountains. But then again, it is Utah. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Utah, or at least the bit they were driving through, was quite like Wyoming, with huge mountains and lush fields. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Makes sense, they are next door to each other.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They had suggested that the Captain move but she’d just snapped at them about how much everything hurt, so they resolved to just let her lie there. Sky and Moon seemed a lot perkier now the old, grumpy Captain was back. Adora supposed it was because they were used to it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By the time they spotted a town, the sun was high in the sky, probably about 11:00am-ish. It was seemingly deserted. Driving around the outskirts, it looked like a ghost town, not a single thing was stirring. However they did spot what appeared to be a small mall, or at least they hoped it was. It was a large squat grey building that appeared to have two floors. Resolving to investigate, they parked just by the first house they drove past, under a tree so as to not boil the van. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon relayed the plan to the Captain, who by now had actually sat up and was perching in the open sliding door, her legs hanging over the step.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘And if we’re not back within’ the hour, assume the worst,’ she finished up, ‘Go on without us.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain just nodded. She was very dazed and confused still, Adora wasn’t sure the information was really registering. Moon approached her with the handguns, ‘Make sure she don’ shoot them accidentally,’ she murmured, pressing them into Adora’s hands. Adora almost laughed but she could see the girl was serious. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Don’t die okay,’ she said quietly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon just looked her in the eyes and smiled, ‘We’ll be fine.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nervously, Adora watched as Sky and Moon ventured into the town towards what she hoped was a mall. Despite the town being miles away from anything, there were no zombies in sight; she thought a small isolated town like this would be crawling with them, but nothing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She heard a clatter behind her and saw the Captain rifling through the boxes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘What are you doing?’ she called.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Where’s the fucking aspirin,’ the Captain groaned, ‘My head is fucking killing me.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora walked back to the van, ‘You can’t have any aspirin.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Why the fuck not,’ the Captain replied, defiantly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora thought for a second, ‘I don’t remember.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Exactly, so I can have some.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No,’ Adora sighed, already exasperated, ‘You can't.’ She took the box out of the Captain’s hands and returned it to its place, ‘You should sit down.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain let out another frustrated groan, but sat down in the door frame again. The distant clinking windchimes filled the otherwise haunting silence. After a minute, the Captain asked, ‘What happened? Last night. I don’t remember.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora sighed and sat down next to her, ‘Well, the zombies broke through the windows. Just tons of them spilling into the church. We started to fight them off but you tripped backwards, your head hit the floor and…’ she trailed off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘How did we get out? Well, more how did I get out?’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora swallowed, ‘Uh well, I sort of… carried you.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain looked at her, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she’s doing the gaze again,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora felt herself going red. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Thanks. I probably would be dead without you.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Well now we’re even,’ she said with a laugh. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora then made the mistake of returning the Captain’s gaze. She was caught off guard yet again by how intense it was and found herself mesmerised by the gleam of the pale blue and bright hazel eyes. It was like looking at the sky and catching the sun in your gaze. In all her life, Adora had never met anyone quite like her, she supposed that was because in Lower Heartville there was a general aura of being overly-friendly to people in the most horribly patronising way and the Captain was the opposite of that. She might be assertive and ordered people about but Adora never felt like she was being mocked for existing; and even the cold, unfriendly attitude she put out felt more genuine than the people she knew from home. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Hey Adora, you okay?’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She’s using my real name. </span>
  </em>
  <span>‘Uh, yeah, sorry,’ she looked away, ‘How are you feeling, aside from the headache of course.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Like shit.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Do you feel like you wanna vomit?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘That’s good,’ said Adora, she tried to remember the treatments for concussions, ‘You should try to avoid physical stuff for a few days hopefully it will heal quickly. That includes driving by the way.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain pulled a face at this, ‘What!’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I’m serious, no driving or fighting or anything unless it’s a matter of life and death.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Which it could be considering the situation,’ the Captain said smugly, raising an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Smart ass.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘You love it.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora didn’t respond, she just looked down willing herself to not blush. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was another long silence after that, but it wasn’t really awkward. It was just peaceful. Perhaps if not for the fact it was the apocalypse, a scene like this could be very relaxing. Out here in the depths of the Utah countryside, Adora almost forgot that she was on the run, that every turn she took could have a flesh-eating monster hidden behind it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Almost. </span>
  </em>
  <span>There was still that inkling that everything could go wrong in a matter of seconds; she suspected that paranoid feeling was typical in this kind of situation, maybe she’d always be frightened that her next move would be her last. It had only been three days but somehow Adora felt that her life had always been like this. She’d always been unsure, frightened of every twist and turn she took; this was just another kind of threat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>...</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘You know, I made a promise to myself,’ began the Captain after some time, ‘that I’d never care about someone again.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Confused, Adora, who’d been lost in thought,  threw a glance at her and was surprised to see there were tears brimming in the corner of her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘After everything that happened to me, I swore that I’d never let another person mean anything to me.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What could she mean by everything that happened to her?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘But I think I’ve learned something,’ she continued, grinding her boots into the dirt, ‘I’m just not like that.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora cocked her head and asked, ‘What do you mean?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I mean look at Sky and Moon. I’m mean to them, I’m a shitty friend, I yell at them, I order them around, and still I think I’d die for them both a hundred times over. I said to myself when I picked them up, </span>
  <em>
    <span>You’ll kick them out in Ohio. You're just giving them a ride.</span>
  </em>
  <span> But they’re still here ‘cause I started to care,’ she found a rock under her boot and kicked it into the road, her grip was tight on the edge of the van floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘And I’m doing it again. I barely know you and for some fucking reason you mean a hell of a lot to me already.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Thank you,’ Adora said quietly, ‘You guys mean a lot to me too.’ She meant it, she’d never had friends like this before. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain rubbed her forehead, ‘I guess what I’m tryna say is… I’m glad we went through Wyoming. And I’m really glad we found you. ‘Cause you’re pretty fucking cool,’ she looked Adora in the eyes again and smiled. A huge, warm smile that made Adora feel fuzzy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I’m so lucky you rescued me,’ she said, ‘like seriously lucky.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly the Captain stood up, covering her mouth, ‘Oh shit I think I’m gonna throw up.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She did throw up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora held her hair back as she doubled over several times, hacking up piles of sludge formally known as egg-fried rice. They’d gotten about five metres away from the van but still the stench was awful. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘We should probably get you a vomit bag or something for the road,’ suggested Adora and the Captain bent over for yet another round of coughing and hacking. ‘I don’t think you’d like it all over the van.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No shit Sherlock,’ spat the Captain, ‘Ugh. I think that’s it.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora led her back to the van where they sat down again. The Captain’s eyes were heavy lidded and she yawned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I suddenly feel,’ another yawn, ‘Really fucking tired,’ she grumbled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘That’s another symptom of a concussion.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘You know maybe I’ll take a nap or something, that’ll distract from this fucking headache.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora was about to say that it was a good idea when the Captain flopped over, her head in Adora’s lap. She was too stunned to move. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Imma just… take a nap…’ the Captain mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Right there?’ Adora squeaked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But the Captain was already out like a light. Adora just had to sit there, panicking slightly. But it wasn’t the worst feeling in the world.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>…</b>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘Adora!’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She jolted upright and spotted Sky and Moon scurrying down the street, they were covered in grime and… </span>
  <em>
    <span>blood. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Their shout awoke the Captain who sat up too quickly and toppled out of the van. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘What happened?’ she asked, standing up to help the Captain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘We should go. Like right now,’ announced Moon, scrambling past them into the van, ‘It weren’t a mall but we found a gas cooker and some flashlights in a hardware store.’ She pulled off her blood soaked hoodie and jumped into the front seat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Guys!’ Adora asked again, ‘What happened?’ They were clearly panicked, rushing to get the van started. Sky just hurried her to get inside, he looked like he’d just seen a ghost.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With shaking hands, he pulled the door shut behind them and sank to the floor as Moon hit the gas pedal and the van rolled out onto the street. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘What the fuck did you guys do?’ the Captain demanded, eyeing the discarded hoodie.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He just wordlessly opened his satchel and handed her a bottle of paracetamol. Hesitantly she took it, ‘Seriously, what the fuck?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon was the one to respond, ‘We ran into… someone.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Zombies?’ Adora asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Worse,’ said the Captain, realisation on her face. Sky just nodded slowly. Adora's eyes darted between the three of them. She had no idea what they were talking about, and her appealing looks for them to tell her didn’t help. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What could possibly be worse than zombies?</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The other three just avoided her eye contact; the Captain threw her head back as she took the paracetamol. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sky looked as if he was about to answer her when the Captain interrupted him, ‘Let’s just not talk about it,’ she said firmly and he fell silent again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They won't tell me, they don’t want to talk to me about it. </span>
  </em>
  <span>What could be worse than zombies? What were they not telling her? What could be so bad that they wanted to just forget. She felt lost. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>What the hell had happened out there?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Next time: Adora presses her friends about what they saw, but this leads to a huge dispute which creates a rift in the group. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Just a more chill chapter before shit goes down. Thanks for all the support! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Gas Station</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone, first off I'd like to apologise for the huge gap between this chapter and the last. My work suddenly decided to pick back up again and then I broke my toe so I've been busy and kind of unmotivated. But the She Ra season 5 trailer has reinvigorated me and I want to finish this before it drops and I'm left an emotional wreck. </p>
<p>Thank you for all the support, I really appreciate it &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1>
  <b>Chapter 5</b>
</h1>
<h1>
  <em>
    <span>The Gas Station</span>
  </em>
</h1>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bullet strayed off its target by a long shot, the Captain just groaned in frustration and rubbed her forehead. About thirty meters away from them, a lone zombie continued to amble towards them, dragging its feet along the road. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Ay Moon,’ the Captain called, ‘Get that motherfucker will ya?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sighing, Moon picked up a handgun and shot the “motherfucker” square in the head. She casually walked over to it, with the intent of finishing it off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sky was fixing yet another nozzle into the fuel tank and attempting to get the petrol to flow. They were stopping at yet another gas station. The Captain said it was best to take advantage of them when you see them, it would be worse to be caught out in the middle of nowhere with an empty tank surrounded by zombies and Adora had to agree. So, even though they were just a few miles from where Route 15 cut through Arizona to get to Nevada, they had made another stop. This time the highway had taken them though a wooded area, just alongside a dense forest. The station itself was very small and ravaged, its windows broken and contents scattered along the floor. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘So,’ Adora asked casually, ‘what was it that you saw back there?’ She was of course referring to the unspoken terror that they had apparently run into; the  other three were fully aware of it but refused to inform her about. Their sullen faces told her that it was bad but Adora could barely comprehend anything worse than what she’d seen already.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I thought I said let’s not talk about it,’ the Captain snapped, rummaging through her jacket pocket and producing the bottle of paracetamol. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Her headache’s getting worse again.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘</span>
  </em>
  <span>Oi,’ Moon said, returning, ‘has it been four hours yet?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No,’ the Captain replied, grumpily.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Exactly, so you cannae have anymore yet,’ Moon crossed her arms and stared at her, frowning.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Don’t tell me what to fucking do Moon,’ the Captain growled, but still she put away the pills. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Guys?’ Adora asked again, this time her voice raised, ‘Don’t you think I should know about whatever it was back there?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Fucking drop it!’ yelled the Captain, she turned on Adora but Moon stepped between them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Hang on,’ Moon interjected, ‘We should tell her, she has a right to know.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain let out a roar of frustration, and slammed her fist on the side of the van. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She’s just pissed off because of her headache. </span>
  </em>
  <span>That’s what Adora wanted to believe, after whatever had transpired between them before, Adora wanted to believe that the Captain was actually really sweet, that her bitter attitude was just a front. However, since they’d left that village, all she’d seen was the snarky, angry side of her and she was starting to consider their - </span>
  <em>
    <span>moment?</span>
  </em>
  <span> - a fluke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora turned her attention back to Moon who said, ‘Don’t you think it’s a wee bit strange that you haven’t seen any other living soul on this trip?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora considered this a moment, caught up in her own survival, she hadn’t really noticed this. Surely there would be others who survived. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We’re not the only ones left of the entire human race.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sky came round the van to stand with them, ‘Trust us when we say that it’s a blessing, you don’t wanna meet most people who’ve been… left behind.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Honestly, you’re pretty lucky you got picked up by us and not some psycho gang,’ Moon continued.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Gang?’ Adora questioned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two glanced at one another, nervousness written on their faces; Sky answered her, ‘Humans flock to one another for survival, they form gangs, but these gangs they’re…’ he took a deep breath, ‘When me and Moon were on our own, we had a couple of run-ins with some gangs. They weren’t pretty. These gangs aren’t pretty.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Most have been overrun by zombies, or had so much infighting they wiped themselves out, but there's still a couple of big ones that roam around picking up people and…’ she trailed off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘And?’ Adora pressed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘They do things, horrible violent things,’ Sky said quietly, ‘Some for weird religious ceremonies to purge the earth or something, some…’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘For fun,’ Moon finished, ‘because humans are cruel,’ she looked distressed and Adora realised something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>they’d run into gang members back in the village. They’d fought them, killed them maybe. That’s where the blood came from. They’d been fighting for their lives against living, breathing humans. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora could justify killing zombies, they were dead already, they couldn’t be saved and they had no conscience, no concept of good or bad. People on the other hand, they made choices. Whoever Moon and Sky has run into had made a choice to murder and they’d had to deal with the consequences.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon began to say something when the Captain jumped out of the van in between them, ‘Okay,’ she interrupted, ‘we’re done with this conversation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘What?’ Moon face scrunched in confusion.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘We’re done,’ the Captain repeated, not making eye contact, her voice was firm but Adora could hear a slight waver, ‘We’re stopping this conversation.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was a moment of silence, nobody seemed to be making a move. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I suppose that’s that then-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In surprise, all eyes turned on Moon, who was glaring down at the Captain, defiance plastered on her pale face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No?’ The Captain repeated back to her, an inflection in her tone, one of disbelief. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No,’ Moon said again, this time louder, more confident.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘What did you just say?’ The Captain matched her glare, face still showing visible confusion.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora threw a glance at Sky, he was biting his lip, eyes darting back and forth. Something was brewing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I said no. I'm not gonna stop telling her ‘bout this. She has a right to know.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain’s confusion contorted into anger, ‘I don’t wanna hear this conversation.’ She took a step towards Moon.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon took a step to match her, she was a good few inches taller than the Captain but still she seemed like a challenger, ‘Then walk away, but Adora should know ‘bout things that could be potentially dangerous to her, she’s on the road too.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I don’t want to hear it,’ the Captain hissed, her hands were curled into fists, her nostrils were flared, she looked like a kettle about to boil over.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon had no hesitation however, ‘Well I’m sorry but you're not the only person with feelings!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain looked as if she were about to retort but instead of her, Moon exploded into a fit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘You know what, this is so typical o’ you! Anything you say is final isnt it? No discussion, if you don't like something, then we can't enjoy it! Why? Because you're in charge? Because for some damn reason your feelings are the only ones that matter? Your not the only person who lost everything when this fucking virus hit! The whole bloody world doesn’t revolve around you, you know.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon was red, she was aggressively jabbing her finger in the Captain’s face, it was like every frustration, big or small, was bubbling over at once. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain was just as angry, she grabbed the front of Moon’s black hoodie, ‘You have no fucking idea what I’ve been through!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora wanted to move, to intervene, but she was frozen in shock; beside her, she sensed Sky was the same. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moon grabbed her hands and shoved them off her hoodie, ‘I dont need your fucking life story, we get it!’ She threw her hands up in the air. ‘You </span>
  <em>
    <span>don't</span>
  </em>
  <span> use your real name; you </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> talk about your past and all because your running away from all your problems,’ she took another step, she was inches from the Captain’s face, screaming, ‘because as much as you like to tell everyone your not scared, your fucking terrified of whatever happened to you catching up!’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain looked just as stunned as Adora and Sky. She opened her mouth but couldn’t get a word in before Moon set off roaring again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘But you know what! You don't get to tell people what to do! You can't stop people from discussing important things just ‘cause you cannae handle ‘em!’ With that she planted her hands squarely on the Captain’s shoulders and shoved her back with such force that she stumbled back, barely able to remain on her feet. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That brought her back to her senses, she lurched forward yelling, ‘How fucking dare you Moon!’ Her fist shot forward, aiming for Moon’s jaw but it was parried by a well placed blow in retaliation. The sudden displays of violence and also knocked Sky back to his own senses and he dived forwards into the foray in a vain attempt to stop it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘My fuckin’ name,’ Moon roared, ‘is Rayla Silvergrove! An’ you’re not gonna push me around like your fucking servant anymore! You bloody hear me!’ She threw both of them off and turned on her heels, stalking towards the forest. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Attempting an appeal, Sky reached for her hand, tears welling up, ‘Rayla please-’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She snatched her hand away and turned to him, ‘Shut the bloody fuck up Callum or I’ll kick your ass!’ She stormed away, leaving him with tears pouring down his face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘That knife doesn’t belong to you!’ The Captain bellowed after her; without a glance back, Moon unsheathed it and let it clatter to the ground before disappearing into the thick undergrowth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fuming, the Captain called after her, ‘Good fucking riddance!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But she was gone. Sky turned towards her, fury in his eyes, ‘What the FUCK Captain!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora blinked, she’d never heard him swear before, but the Captain was unfazed, ‘Shut the fuck up lover boy, get in the van. We’re leaving.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For the first time since they blew up at one another, Adora spoke up, ‘We’re not leaving her.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain just snarled back, ‘She just walked out on us, she made her choice, now she has to live with it.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sky remained firmly where he was, ‘I'm not leaving her, she’ll cool down, I’ll find her.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Then stay here and fucking die. Come on Adora.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘What?’ The Captain’s glare bore down on Adora, where it had once stunned her and confused her, it now infuriated her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She stood her ground, ‘No. I'm not going without her, we’re a team, we don’t leave people.’ She was still in disbelief that the girl she was speaking to now was the same one who’d sat with her and told her how much she cared; the same one who’d slept on her lap and smiled like the sun.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But every word the Captain spoke brought her further away from that warm image, ‘Fine! You can all stay here in this garbage dumb and die! See if I fucking care!’ She yelled those final words and started for the van door, flinging in open and clambering up behind the wheel. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait, she’s going to drive off. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora hurried after her, as fast as her leg would allow, ‘Wait, Captain, your concussion, you can’t drive!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All she head was the muffled ‘Like you fucking care!’ before the engine reved and the van shot off, trailing dust, disappearing around a bend hidden by thick trees. Adora stared after it, she’d just… left. That was it, she was gone too, hadn’t even looked back. She felt her throat constricting and her stomach dropped. She was alone again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No. Not completely. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She turned to see Sky clutching his handgun with shaking fists, Adora still had hers, and the Captain had left Moon’s hunting knife laying on the concrete. They had weapons, they had each other, there was only one course of action.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Raising her voice she said, ‘Sky.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked at her and wiped his eyes, ‘We have to find her.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded her head and walked over to him, taking his hand in hers, ‘We will find her.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her voice was still choked and she was terrified stiff but she knew that it was the right thing to do, Moon - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Rayla</span>
  </em>
  <span> - was out there, defenceless, alone. She wasn’t going to be like the Captain, she was going to stick with her friends. Sky’s hand gripped hers tightly, his face was still wet but he was determined. Gun in hand, the two advanced towards the dark forest unaware of the dangers that were to follow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Next time: With the group split and dangers closing in all around them, Adora and Callum must find Rayla before it’s too late.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It's a bit of a short chapter but the next one is gonna be wild so...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Forest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1>
  <b>Chapter 6</b>
</h1>
<h1>
  <em>
    <span>The Forest</span>
  </em>
</h1>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The forest was packed with thick trunked trees and impenetrable undergrowth lined with sharp thorns like knives. The dirt and mud underfoot was covered in tree roots, crisp brown leaves and jagged rocks. The light was fractured by the dense canopy above them, leaving thin beams of glowing, strangled sunlight as the only source of light. Adora pulled her hood up as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. A shiver ran down her spine. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Rayla!’ Sky’s voice echoed around the forest. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No answer. </span>
  </em>
  <span>‘Rayla!’ he called again. The answering silence was haunting.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Rayla!’ Adora repeated, they were so far into the forest now that there was no turning back. They were in so deep, it would be easier to just continue into the dimming light. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Maybe we should fan out a bit more,’ he suggested, ‘cover more ground?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘And risk losing each other? No way,’ she’d seen the horror movies, splitting up was never a good idea.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They continued through the undergrowth, clambering over branches and thickets, every so often calling out for their lost friend, but the eerie silence was all that they heard. No bird song, no wind. It was like death. Adora stumbled over an old tree root protruding from the earth, she stuck her arm out to catch onto another spindly tree that dipped with her weight. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>Suddenly there was a loud </span><em><span>snap. </span></em><span>It had come from several feet away. Tightening her grip on her gun, she threw a glance at Sky, he had heard it too. From behind a pine tree came a low drawl, from behind another, a breathy hiss. </span><em><span>Zombies.</span></em> <em><span>Our shouting must have drawn them out. </span></em><span>She and Sky treaded closer to one another, back to back they peered out into the gloom. She could make out sunken eyes, twisted expressions of fear, the final feeling of dread and horror that the humans must have felt before they drew their last breath. Rotting hands clawed at the trunks as the shapes advanced towards the pair; the drawl became moans as the zombies discovered that they had found living meals. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sky tugged at her arm, gesturing for her to move, his pace picked up into a jog and Adora matched it; they couldn’t fight them, not all at once. She threw a glance back and fired a bullet, by some chance it landed squarely in the knee of one of the creatures, sending it tumbling into the thickets. Their jog turned into a run.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora had been here before, she’d been running all her life. From as young as she could remember, she’d been running somewhere. Running to school, running from bullies, running for buses, running down race tracks, running for basketballs, running for gold. Running came naturally to her, but it had been her achilles heel. She ran from everything, her friends, her boss, her work. She ran because it was easier than fighting, but she’d begun to resent herself for running, never facing things down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And she was still running. But not from her life, </span>
  <em>
    <span>for</span>
  </em>
  <span> her life. She was running to help people, she was running for her friends. And it felt good, absolutely terrifying, but amazing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I shouldn’t be feeling like this, but these past few days I’ve felt more alive than ever. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Her feet pounded down on the earth, she vaulted a small boulder, clambered over a fallen tree. Another bullet, and another, she didn't even check to see if they’d landed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sky was shooting too, his breath was ragged, but still he called out, ‘Rayla!’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly a zombie fell out of the undergrowth in front of her; she skidded to a halt and fired at it but her bullets missed and the monster lurched forward, arms out grabbing for her. Out of nowhere, Sky slammed into it, sending it flying and impaling it on a branch. His eyes made brief contact with her, they were wide and bloodshot, terror fixed into them. Adora realised that no matter how she felt, others weren’t the same. Sky had lost people, he’d seen people he loved be taken from him and now he thought he was going to lose another. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He turned back to the forest and shouted again, ‘Rayla!’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora was about to set off again when she heard… </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Callum!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A girl’s voice echoed out from the gloom, ‘Callum!’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Rayla!’ His head darted wildly around, trying to figure out where it was coming from, ‘Rayla!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Callum!’ Adora picked up the direction and grabbed his arm, yanking him after her. He kept screaming her name, the voice kept echoing around the woods; but it was getting louder. And louder. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘There!’ Adora spotted someone, lying on the ground, the figure was shrouded in darkness but there was no doubt to who it was. Callum rushed forward and fell to his knees next to her. Adora came to a halt and gasped. Rayla was lying on her front, cheek pressed to the floor, her arms were splayed out, and her leg… her leg was caught under a branch and there was blood seeping out, reddening the earth. On closer inspection, Adora realised there was a branch, a sharp one, sticking through her leg, fixing her in place like a drawing pin. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Callum cupped her face and grasped her hand tightly, ‘I’m here, I’m here.’ His reassurance was doing nothing, her breathing was shallow and staggered, she was in shock.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘What happened?’ Adora asked, still staring at the blood. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I shouldn’t o’ run off like that,’ she breathed in again, ‘I ran into a mass of them but-’ she closed her eyes, ‘I thought I was gonna die.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Callum stroked her cheek, ‘It’s ok, we’re here now.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora could hear the growing noise of approaching zombies, ‘We have to move you,’ she said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘How?’ asked Callum, his voice was coarse and shaky. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora knelt beside them both, making eye contact with the pale blue eyes of Rayla, ‘We have to lift this branch.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘But it could rip her leg in half!’ Callum shouted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rayla’s hand tightened in his, ‘Callum, we have too.’ She looked into Adora’s eyes with strong certainty, her eyes were red, like she’d been crying, but they were dry now. She understood the risk but they had to get out of this forest and she was willing to do anything. Adora admired her bravery. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Still shaky, Callum shucked off his jacket, ‘Your’s too Adora, we have to apply pressure when the branch comes out.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora complied, then went and looped her hands under the log. She saw Callum readying himself for the blood flow and Rayla’s hand curling into fists to brace for the pain. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next few moments passed in a blur, she wrenched the log upwards, there was an ear shattering scream, she stumbled back and the log collapsed into the mud, Callum surged forward attempting to stop the blood pouring out of the gaping wound, more screaming. In the trees, she caught sight of a zombie and fumbled for her gun, there were more appearing, everywhere. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She screamed at the other two that they had to move but Callum was still wrapping their jackets around Rayla’s leg, who was writhing in pain. She let rip with her handgun but the armada was overwhelming, for every one she shot another two appeared. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All of a sudden, the worst thing imaginable happened, she pulled the trigger only to hear the hollow click of an empty barrel. In frustration she threw it to the forest floor and glanced around for a weapon, anything she could use. Her eyes fell on the blood red branch that had impaled Rayla. She wrenched it off its log and turned back to face the mass of monsters growing larger. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The first challenger approached her; it’s broken, jagged fingers swung at her which she parried with the branch, stabbing it through the wrist. Its fragile bones snapped and she pried her weapon from the wrist, thrusting it into the creature's eye socket which made it crumple. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Another one. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She aimed straight for the face this time, goring the features and splattering blood all across Adora’s. She wiped the blood from her mouth and turned to the zombie approaching her friends; she swung the branch like a bat smashing it squarely in the side of the head and sending it careening into a second whose brain was exposed. She made that her next target, slashing at the dull, grey matter, spattering it across the floor. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Adora!’ came a shout from behind her, ‘Come on!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Callum was struggling to support Rayla as she hung loosely. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She’s blacked out from the pain.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora rushed to her side and looped an arm under the other shoulder. Together they maneuvered her away from the zombies, Callum shooting his handgun furiously. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They stumbled through the undergrowth, struggling to carry Rayla and fight off the crowd of zombies. A flash of brightness caught Adora’s eye, between two trees a sliver of light revealed a dash of gray. </span>
  <em>
    <span>A road? Please God be a road. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She directed the three of them toward the light but Callum tripped and fell onto his knees, slamming his hands into the mud. Rayla slipped sideways and Adora dropped the branch to grab her round the waist and pull her up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Go!’ Callum yelled, scrambling up and searching for his dropped gun, ‘I’m right behind you!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Deep breaths. Oxygen is very important, especially if you're doing sport. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Her old coach’s words rattled in her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Deep breaths. Resilience is key. Never let your guard down. In the face of an adversary, never give in. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora wasn’t giving in. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Keep going. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The light was fading as the evening set in but the road - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes! -</span>
  </em>
  <span> was in sight. By the sounds of gunfire, Callum had found the gun, she could hear his boots pounding after them. He looped his arm around Rayla’s waist and together they pushed the final stretch, spilling onto the road.</span>
  <em>
    <span> Flat ground.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But they were far from safe, all around them the zombies emerged from the trees. Rayla made a noise like she was regaining consciousness. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She should have stayed blacked out.</span>
  </em>
  <span> They were surrounded. Just like Adora had been in the square in the overly-friendly but horribly patronising city of Lower Heartville. She could see no way out of this, they’d made it so far but there was no deus ex machina coming to save her now. She could almost hear the rev of the engine that had saved her before. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She wasn't imagining that.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was getting louder, she pulled the three of them back to the side of the road, Rayla was upright but delirious. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Round the bend came a van. A sliver van. It rammed into the zombies, mowing them over and screeching to a halt in front of them. Behind the wheel was-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Captain!’ Callum cried. He and Adora pulled Rayla towards the door. They yanked it open and piled into the van. The Captain slammed the gas pedal, ploughing through the monsters, splattering blood and guts over the windshield, leaving a train of mashed bodies in her wake. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It felt like minutes before they stopped driving but it must have been longer as, through the red sheen, Adora couldn’t see a forest at all. The Captain fell out of the driver's seat and towards Rayla who was conscious and laying in Callum’s arms as he struggled to help the hole in her leg. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Rayla,’ the Captain mumbled, crawling towards them. She slumped on her knees and grasped her free hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With a quivering lip, words came tumbling out of her mouth, ‘Rayla, oh my god, I’m so sorry, oh my god, oh my god, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, I never should have- I’m sorry-’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rayla just stared up at her, her eyes widened ever so slightly, ‘I’m sorry-’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No, no, you don’t have to be,’ the Captain’s face was scrunched with pain, tears welled up in her eyes, ‘This is my fault, this is my fault. I’m sorry.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She doubled over and began to cry, Adora felt powerless.</span>
  <em>
    <span> What do I do? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Rayla reached up slowly and looped her arm around the Captain, pulling her into a hug which the Captain sank into. Callum put his arms round both of them, then he looked up at Adora. He jerked his head at her to come over and she did; he pulled her into the hug. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was warm. It also reeked of blood, sweat, gunpowder and mud. But it was warm. Adora could hear the soft whimpering sobs from the Captain, the ragged breathing and distant hum of the engine. She could feel her own breath levelling out slowly, her heart rate pacing itself. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They’d made it. They were alive. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <span>After several moments, the sobbing stopped abruptly. Confused, Adora looked at the Captain to see she’d blacked out again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She was still concussed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Next time: With everyone reunited, they face one more tough decision. What next?</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Evening</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh my god, I actually finished this before She Ra season 5 drops. Hallelujah.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1>
  <b>Chapter 7</b>
</h1>
<h1>
  <em>
    <span>The Evening</span>
  </em>
</h1>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was about 8:00 in the evening, Adora guessed, when she pulled the van over into a lay-by. There was nothing but plain, flat fields for several miles so they wouldn’t be caught unawares like last time. Despite very limited driving experience she still managed to park it with moderate success and pulled up the handbrake. With Callum struggling to deal with two heavily injured people in the back of the van, Adora had to drive for several hours down Route 15, crossing through Arizona and into Nevada. They had decided to pull over about an hour out from Las Vegas, coming to the agreement that driving through a major city at night would probably be a bad idea. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora glanced back at Callum, there were purple bags under his drooping eyes and he moved slowly and carefully, administering whatever medical attention he could to Rayla’s leg. He looked exhausted. Adora suspected that she looked the same. There was a stinging pain in her leg from where her gash was healing; it seemed like nothing compared to the gaping wound in Rayla’s leg that had cut so deep you could catch glimpses of white bone. Thankfully it wasn’t very wide and so had missed her major blood vessels and with Callum’s efforts, had stopped leaking blood. Speaking of which, the van was drenched in it. So were its occupants. Adora could kill for a shower and a change of clothes, she was still wearing the tattered ones from earlier that week. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was gross, every inch of her was caked in some kind of filth but what could they do? They had to find a shower somewhere on the road right? Maybe they could find a house somewhere with running water? Although, since the church, Adora had been weary of stopping at buildings. Honestly it could rain right now and she would be happy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She swung open the door and clambered out, surveying the empty landscape. Just shabby shrubbery and boulders for miles. She hoped it would stay that way.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She wandered around for a bit before climbing into the back of the van.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘We both need to alternate on watch tonight,’ she said, ‘we should let the other two rest.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Callum nodded slowly, barely registering her words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sensing his exhaustion, she volunteered to go first, which he began to protest but Rayla, who was just barely awake herself, touched his hand softly. He should rest, she’d be fine. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So in the growing cold, Adora perched on the edge of the driver's seat, flashlight in one hand, gun resting on the dashboard, staring out into the darkness. Behind her she could hear gentle snoring, it was pleasantly calming. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So where next? What next? </span>
  </em>
  <span>She recalled their plan to get to Los Angeles and get a boat out of America, it seemed the only way out as she hadn’t seen any planes in the sky for a week. But what would they find in LA? Would there be people to take them? Adora doubted it, given the general lack of survivors. So would they try to sail a boat themselves? Would there be any boats left? Could the other three even sail? There wasn’t much point worrying about it; worrying about the far future seemed futile, she should focus on surviving, getting to her next destination. The next step after that was something for future Adora to be concerned with. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Strange. Adora had never really thought like that before. A week ago she had been crippled by fears of the future; putting off going to college because it was the last logical step for her and after that she’d be on her own, with no clear direction. The thought had been terrifying so she had put off college for a year, and probably would have done the same the next if her life hadn’t been turned upside down. Yet here she was with no path to follow and she realised her biggest fears weren’t as scary as she thought.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>…</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Hey, you look cold.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora was stirred from thought by the soft voice of the Captain, who was holding a blanket out to her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Uh I’m not-’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Take it dumbass,’ the Captain said jokingly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora did and watched as the Captain struggled to climb into the passenger seat, her coordination seemed off, probably still a bit delirious.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Shouldn’t you be sleeping?’ Adora asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Don’t wanna,’ the Captain replied, shrugging her shoulders, ‘I’m not tired.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora snorted, ‘Lucky you, I’m shattered.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Go to sleep then, I’ll cover your shift.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora looked at her, ‘With your track record of slipping out of consciousness? No way.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain matched her gaze, ‘Fine fine, don’t sleep,’ there was a smile playing on her lips. After a moment she said, ‘Hey, I guess I owe you an apology too. For pissing off like that and leaving you. That was shitty of me,’ her eyes fell as she said this.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora reached out and touched her shoulder, ‘You came through in the end. We’d be dead if it weren’t for you.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘But you wouldn’t have even </span>
  <em>
    <span>been</span>
  </em>
  <span> there if it wasn’t for me. My shitty attitude put you guys in danger. Again,’ She put her hand over Adora’s, ‘That’s all I ever seem to do, hurt people.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No you don’t. You help people too; you didn’t have to pick me up in Wyoming but you did, you didn’t need to help Callum and Rayla but you did. A few mistakes doesn’t make you a bad person.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Captain didn’t respond, instead she slid her hand under Adora’s and brought it down between them, interlacing their fingers. Adora’s heart skipped a beat. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a moment, she said softly, ‘Catra.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora turned her head in confusion.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘That’s my name, Catra.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Catra.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Captain was telling Adora her name, </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t it, like, her number one rule? Not to tell anyone your real name?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Unsure of how to respond, she mumbled quietly, ‘That’s a pretty name.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Catra raised an eyebrow at her and grinned, ‘Not as pretty as yours.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora could feel her face flushing red and resolved to say nothing lest she embarrass herself. She shifted in her seat a little, attempting to quell the somersaults her stomach was doing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe she had a path to follow after all: wherever this girl went. Maybe it was the way that Catra looked at her, like she hung onto every word Adora said; and her eyes, that bore deep into her, that seemed to her heart alight. It was corny, she knew, but she’d never felt like this before. About anyone. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Hey,’ Catra bumped her arm, ‘You ok?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Yeah,’ Adora exhaled sharply, which made Catra laugh, it was a sort of squeaky laugh, as if she was a bit rusty, </span>
  <em>
    <span>but shit it’s cute. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She fiddled with the torch switch. Chancing a look at Catra made her blush harder, she was just watching her with a small, tired smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> ok?’ asked Adora, noting the sleepy look.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I don’t know, I suddenly feel really tired again,’ she responded quietly, running her thumb over Adora’s hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Probably because you have a concussion,’ Adora said, matter of factly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Damn it, when do these get better?’ Catra groaned, rolling her head back, ‘You know I threw up twice before I came back to get you?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora sighed, ‘It’ll probably be better in a week, maybe two, you’ll feel better if you don’t over-exert yourself.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Huh. Whoops,’ Catra closed her eyes and tightened her grip on Adora’s hand. Her face scrunched up like she was in pain. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Do you need me to get you some painkillers?’ asked Adora, concerned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘No. Just… stay there.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Okay.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>…</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Ow, bloody fuck!’ Rayla growled. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Why are you moving?’ Catra said, exasperated. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I’m allowed to fuckin’ move!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Rayla! You have a fucking hole in your fucking leg!’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adora hadn’t even realised at first but Catra had started to use their real names. However, they still called her Captain. Only Adora called her Catra and only when it was just them; she supposed Catra would tell them when she was ready. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rayla was trying to get up from the seat she’d been put in, her wound had been washed and dressed haphazardly and they were all praying it wouldn’t get infected, but she was insisting she could walk around despite their protests. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Rayla, listen to the Captain, stop moving around,’ Callum said, not even looking up from his radio. He’d gone back to fiddling with the dials and crossing out numbers again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rayla stuck her tongue out at him but stopped trying to move. Adora was furiously scrubbing the van floor, trying to remove the crimson stains of blood. Unfortunately for them, it hadn’t rained in several days and therefore there had been no time to refill the water tank, which was on the verge of running dry; this made cleaning the van very difficult. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘When we get to LA, I swear I’ll fight a million zombies for a damn car wash,’ Catra said, running her hand down the metalwork of the van, ‘Look at it, it’s filthy.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I don’t see you helping,’ said Adora.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Catra feigned a swoon, ‘Oh my head, I seem to be unable to assist at the moment,’ she threw her hair back, ‘You reckon Vegas has car washes?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I’m certain Vegas has car washes.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Maybe we should make a stop in Vegas?’ Catra mused.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘I thought we avoided big cities. Remember what happened when we went to that mall?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Yeah but I’ve always wanted to go to Vegas,’ Catra said, ‘I’d risk it all to see them casinos. We could jack one of them fancy cars.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘You’re delirious,’ Adora snorted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly there was a squeal from in the van, Callum appeared, jumping up wildly, ‘Oh my god! Oh my god!’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘What?’ asked Rayla, startled, ‘What happened?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He fell down on his knees and planted a kiss on her lips before jumping out of the van and throwing his arms around Adora.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘What?’ demanded Catra.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He turned to her, beaming, ‘I got a signal! I got a signal!’ He presented his radio, it was emitting a strange noise, a pulsing beep. On closer listening, Adora could hear that the pulses were irregular, it sounded like- </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Morse code!’ she exclaimed, ‘But why is that special?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Noting the blank expressions of everyone, Callum continued, ‘When the zombies first attacked, the first place I went was home, my dad was… already gone,’ his voice dipped in excitement a little but still he pressed on, ‘But there was no sign of my brother, or my aunt!’ </span>
  <em>
    <span>He has a brother? </span>
  </em>
  <span>‘I feared the worst but there was a note, with a message!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rayla had seemingly caught on, ‘The note your aunt left?’ she gasped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded vigorously, ‘It said, ‘Listen to the Radio”! So I’ve been searching the different frequencies for weeks, but I just found this one, broadcasting out this morse code!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled out his notebook, it was covered in crossed out numbers but scrawled in one corner was a sentence, ‘Callum. Go to,’ and then it was a set of numbers. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘That looks like coordinates,’ Catra raised her eyebrows, ‘Are you sure that’s your aunt and not some gang trap.’ </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘How many people are called Callum huh?’ He answered, ‘This is where we need to go, my aunt will help us.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Catra looked a bit suspicious but Rayla backed him up, ‘Come on Captain. Where else are we gonna go? His aunt might have a way out of this shit show.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All eyes were trained on her. She took a deep breath, ‘Okay. First, we need to find somewhere to hose down my van. Then we gotta decipher those coordinates.’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Yes!’ Callum pulled her into a hug which she tentatively reciprocated. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So they had a goal, wherever these coordinates led. Adora hoped it wasn’t a trap, but it seemed pretty legit. Would it be a safe haven? Or maybe an evacuation point to get them to one? Whatever it was, it was where they were going. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And wherever they were going, they were going together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Will I ever write a non-corny romance scene. Probably not. Oh well.</p>
<p>So I've finished my first actual fic that I put on the internet, what a wild ride this has been eh. (Not really) This has actually been tons of fun, like oh my gods a lot of fun. </p>
<p>I want to thank everyone who read this from the bottom of my heart, y'all are just the nicest people. Thank you so much for the support! &lt;3&lt;3&lt;3</p>
<p>(Assuming I don't die of emotional failure after Season 5) I definitely plan to continue this in the future, with a sort of second book where we get to see more of America and all the crazy stuff that happens after a zombie apocalypse. But unlike this I have no clue where I want to take that story, so I will need to plan it out and figure out what I want to happen. </p>
<p>Again I want to thank everyone for the kind words n stuff, it actually really helps boost confidence, so thank you &lt;3 </p>
<p>Ok imma stop being soppy now.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There we go, my first fic and it's zombies. If they were out of character for you, I'm sorry. Please be nice.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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